Spiritual Warfare and Sin: Seek God's Remedy

My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.—1 John 2:1

I wish it were possible to anoint the head of every Christian preacher so that he would never sin again while the world stands. Perhaps some would consider that a happy way to deal with the subject. But, in fact, if any person can be removed from the possibility of sin, he or she can only be some kind of a robot run by pulleys, wheels and push-buttons. A person morally incapable of doing evil would be, by the same token, morally incapable of doing good. A free human will is necessary to the concept of morality. I repeat: If our wills are not free to do evil, neither are they free to do good....

But what was the sinning priest to do? Should he give up to discouragement? Should he resign himself to failure? No! There was a remedy. And what about ministers and all of God's servants today? In a time of temptation and failure, should they simply quit? Should they write a letter of resignation and walk out, saying, " I am not an Augustine or a Wesley; therefore, I give up"? No, if they are aware of what the Word of God says, they will seek God's remedy. Tragedy in the Church: The Missing Gifts, 75-76.

"Thank You, God, for Your glorious remedy! Thank You for Your love; thank You for Your grace; thank You for constant forgiveness in Jesus Christ. Amen."

By submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email communications from Bible Gateway, a division of The Zondervan Corporation, 3900 Sparks Drive SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 USA, including commercial communications and messages from partners of Bible Gateway. You may unsubscribe from Bible Gateway’s emails at any time. If you have any questions, please review our Privacy Policy or email us at privacy@biblegateway.com.